Power Rankings: Buffalo soldiers back into elite

Updated: Dec. 25

About six weeks into the season, the Buffalo Sabres appeared to realize they were actually still a pretty good team. Until then, the Sabres and anyone else who watched them, had reason to doubt it.

Ryan Miller has a .953 save percentage in his last 16 games. (Getty Images)

Buffalo, of course, finished first overall last season and went to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second consecutive year, but in the aftermath of losing co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury to free agency, the Sabres launched the new campaign looking like a shell-shocked bunch. The overall team speed was still there and so was the ability to play a pressure-creating transition game, but Buffalo generally looked out of sync until mid-November and had fallen to the bottom of the standings in a tough Northeast Division.

Worse yet, the Sabres had developed a bad habit of trailing early, which put even more pressure on young offensive players -- like Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville and Derek Roy -- who were being asked to step up their games and in particular, on goalie Ryan Miller.

But there was a turning point and it came after the team fell four games under .500 for the first time since before the lockout. Buffalo beat division rival Montreal at home Nov. 16 and then won two more against the Canadiens within a week while throwing in a victory over Northeast leader Ottawa. Buffalo ran its winning streak to five games by downing Washington after Thanksgiving and hasn't looked back since. In all, Buffalo has won 13 of its last 17, including the last six.

Miller has been superb during the run with a .953 save percentage in his last 16 games, and the Sabres are again creating high-powered offense by moving their legs and forcing mistakes with their speed and puck movement. It's probably too late for them to think about catching the Senators in the Northeast, but Buffalo is turning back into the team that should have everyone in the East concerned.

Here are this week's rankings.

Power Rankings
Current		Team	Previous
	1	Sharks · Trends	1
	San Jose picked up 38 of the last 44 available points down the stretch, so they are getting to the playoffs in high gear. Now they have to prove they have some bite when it really matters.
	2	Red Wings · Trends	2
	Dominik Hasek looks sharp and rested heading into the playoffs, which is good news for the Red Wings. So is the easiest first-round travel schedule the veteran team has had in several seasons.
	3	Canadiens · Trends	4
	The Canadiens are explosive, have the league's best power play and a rookie goalie playing with the poise of a veteran heading to the playoffs. It won't hurt Montreal to face a team it has beaten 11 straight times either.
	4	Penguins · Trends	3
	They could regret not pushing harder to finish first in the East, but the Penguins have their eyes on a bigger prize. Some question marks remain about Sidney Crosby's ankle heading into the playoffs.
	5	Ducks · Trends	5
	Defense and goaltending are supposed to win championships, and the Ducks have that in spades. But no team in the playoffs has scored fewer goals this season.
	6	Capitals · Trends	14
	Is there even more hardware in store for Alex Ovechkin, who has already claimed the Art Ross, Maurice Richard and almost certainly the Hart Trophy this season?
	7	Wild · Trends	6
	They've got Marian Gaborik firing on all cylinders, a stifling system of defense and home-ice advantage that is critical because the Wild finished very strong at home and much less so on the road.
	8	Rangers · Trends	10
	Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has put up great numbers against the Devils and Jaromir Jagr is in a groove heading into the playoffs with goals in his last four games and in seven of his last eight.
	9	Devils · Trends	8
	The Devils got a big monkey off their backs by beating the Rangers in the finale, but they also haven't given goalie Martin Brodeur a game off in three months. Last season, the workload caught up with him in the playoffs.
	10	Flyers · Trends	13
	They'll be underdogs against Washington just because the Caps are this season's media darlings, but the physical Flyers have seven 20-goal scorers and can't be taken for granted.
	11	Avalanche · Trends	16
	Lots of offensive firepower and leadership from veterans who know what it takes to win it all. The issue is whether they can stay healthy for a long run and get the kind of goaltending they'll need.
	12	Flames · Trends	12
	Forget about the Flames 3-1 record against the Sharks because all the games were played before San Jose took off at the trade deadline. More telling is that San Jose outshot the Flames every time, even twice in losses, by significant margins.
	13	Bruins · Trends	15
	Whether or not the hurting Bruins survive the first round, getting back in the playoffs for the first time since before the lockout is progress. Give GM Peter Chiarelli props for fixing the mess he inherited two years ago.
	14	Predators · Trends	19
	Nashville's power play is a concern heading into the playoffs and so is the goaltending, even if Dan Ellis looked very good at times down the stretch. But the Predators had to fight their way in and they tend to play division-rival Detroit tough.
	15	Stars · Trends	9
	No offense from Richards, Ribeiro and Hagman heading into the playoffs and no Zubov in the lineup. Not a good way for Dallas to take on the Ducks.
	16	Senators · Trends	11
	Lots of questions around Ottawa to finish the season, but the big one is whether Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza can step up enough to overcome the absences of Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly.
	17	Hurricanes · Trends	7
	Carolina spent all but 15 days leading the Southeast Division this season. Too bad the last one was among them.
	18	Sabres · Trends	20
	Lots of reasons why the Sabres went from the Presidents' Trophy penthouse to the outhouse in just one season, but one that stands out was their problem winning in their own building, particularly during the last month.
	19	Oilers · Trends	18
	A great finish wasn't enough, although it offered lots of hope for the future because it was triggered by several youngsters. But Edmonton should contain some of its excitement because so much of the late run was fueled by incredible results in shootouts and overtime.
	20	Canucks · Trends	17
	Look for a major offseason personnel shakeup. Offensive woes were exposed even more than usual because goalie Roberto Luongo wasn't at his best often enough.
	21	Blackhawks · Trends	21
	Hockey is back in Chicago where the young and much improved Blackhawks have a bright future centering around gems Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
	22	Blue Jackets · Trends	23
	Rick Nash matured a great deal this season and goalie Pascal Leclaire proved he's the real deal, which gives the Blue Jackets the building blocks they need to close the gap on playoff teams. They're not that far away.
	23	Coyotes · Trends	25
	The Coyotes developed a good young core this season, although it suffered some growing pains along the way. But with goalie Ilya Bryzgalov locked up for several years, the playoff dry spell in the desert won't last much longer.
	24	Panthers · Trends	22
	The Panthers can take some satisfaction from ruining the season of bitter rival Carolina, but that won't help the organization get through what is shaping up as a long and volatile summer.
	25	Maple Leafs · Trends	24
	Interim GM Cliff Fletcher is looking for the detonator switch, although blowing things up isn't likely to end the 40-year Stanley Cup drought any time soon.
	26	Islanders · Trends	26
	How bad was this team's offense this season? You wouldn't ask if you looked at the stats and saw that the Islanders were the only team without anyone getting at least 50 points.
	27	Blues · Trends	28
	A season to forget unless you are Keith Tkachuk. The veteran scored three times in his last two games, including on his last shot of the season, to become only the fourth U.S.-born player to reach 500 goals.
	28	Kings · Trends	29
	Another season is over and another rebuilding effort has begun. One of these years someone from Hollywood will have to come up with a new script.
	29	Thrashers · Trends	30
	If things weren't bad enough for the Thrashers, the season ended with superstar Ilya Kovalchuk hinting loudly that he's getting tired of being in Atlanta.
	30	Lightning · Trends	27
	The bright side in an otherwise dismal season is the Lightning will pick no lower than second in what is considered a very deep draft.